Updraft
by railise
Summary: Robin and Marian get trapped in a dark room. Written for the Robin Appreciation Society in Robin Hood Intercomm, at LiveJournal.


Marian had insisted on being part of the castle raid, despite Robin's protestations; she finally won the argument by reminding him once more that she was either part of his gang, or she was not. She could fight as well (or better) than any of them. She had been sneaking around under Vaizey's nose nearly as long as he had been in Nottingham. Still, that did not mean Robin was happy about having her beside him as they crept through the dark corridors beneath the sheriff's abode.

Which, he reflected, was the only time he would ever _not_ want her beside him.

The gang split into pairs according to their plan, taking separate routes to raid the various stashes Vaizey had arranged around the place, with the intention of not losing his entire haul to the outlaws again. Of course, that only made them more determined to clean him out, and they were about to accomplish exactly that.

Marian, in particular, was taking a surprising amount of delight in personally stripping the wall safe in the sheriff's bedchamber of everything it contained. When Robin raised an eyebrow, she murmured, "This should be my father's bedchamber, not his." Giving her a sympathetic smile, he resumed searching under the mattress, pleased when his efforts netted him two more pouches of coins to add to their haul.

Finally, they had collected everything of value they could find, and were making their way back to the rendezvous point via a different route than they had come, in keeping with the guards' schedules that Marian had shared with the gang. As Robin and Marian turned down a hallway he had not been through in years, Robin paused, pointing in confusion to a tapestry hanging on the wall. "Wasn't there a bedchamber there?" he asked quietly.

Marian nodded, ducking her head toward him as they resumed their hurried walk. "It got too drafty the last winter we were here. Father tried blocking up the windows, but it was still too cold. We finally put up that tapestry to match the others along this corridor, and left it at that. I'm surprised you remember it," she remarked as they turned a corner. "I doubt anyone else does."

They were nearing the end of that series of passageways, where a little-used staircase would eventually take them to the underground warren again, when voices drifted up from those stairs. Judging from the snippet of conversation, it seemed that the guards who were starting their shift had also discovered the back way to their employer's rooms, which was about to cause the pair of outlaws a significant problem. Exchanging a glance with Marian, Robin turned and hastily followed her back the way they had come; while they were moving more quickly than the men behind them, they could still hear the ongoing dialogue, confirming that they could soon be trapped in the far more populated areas around the sheriff's chambers.

A potential solution presented itself to Robin as they passed a couple of tapestries, and he snagged Marian's arm before ducking behind another. There was the door to the drafty room, and all he could hope was that five years of disuse had not rendered it rusted shut- or rusted noisy. Fortune must have been smiling upon them, because it opened with only a whisper of protest. He immediately shut and bolted it once they were inside, and prayed that the movement of the door would not cause the tapestry to waver and give them away.

On the positive side of things, it apparently did not, as the guards walked by the room without noticing anything amiss. On the not-so-positive side, they decided to stop just a few feet away to continue their conversation.

Realizing they would not be able to immediately leave, Robin set the sack of loot down and turned around, finally noticing that they were in pitch darkness. "You were serious about closing off that draft," he whispered.

"I know it does not feel like much now," Marian whispered back, from somewhere ahead of him. "But, it is terrible at the start of the year, especially."

Robin waited a beat, either for the guards to move on, or for his eyes to adjust to the gloom. Neither was forthcoming; it would seem that the guards did not have to be anywhere, and the chamber had been so effectively blocked up, that not a bit of light shone through anywhere.

"This is eerie," Marian said, her voice little more than a breath. It was so quiet, that Robin was not even entirely sure where she was.

Carefully stepping away from the door, concerned about bumping into a forgotten something which could give away their presence, he asked in the same near-silent tone, "Where are you?"

A moment later, he felt a hand on his arm. The touch had been uncertain, since she could see no more than he could; Robin was glad they had located one another, and joined his hand with hers.

"I wish they would go." Even without much tone, Marian's impatience was clear, and he shared it.

A grin crept over his face. "I suppose we shall have to find a way to pass the time."

She moved easily into his embrace when he slid his arms around her waist, her arms going about his neck, making him glad anew for the way they had worked things out recently- even if it did mean she was at risk now, because of his plan. "I suppose you have something in mind?" she asked teasingly.

"Mmm-hmm." He did not need to be able to see her to know where her ear was when they were standing like this. Leaning over slightly, he said, "Kiss me." The whole situation was rather absurd- dangerous, but absurd,- so it was difficult not to be playful.

There was laughter in her whisper as she protested, "I cannot even see you, in this darkness."

"So?" He moved his head back enough to playfully brush the end of her nose with his own. "Kiss me in the dark."

"You're insufferable," she murmured, just before her lips met his. He had expected a light, quick kiss, but she was actually none too gentle; he instantly matched her eagerness. It would seem that she was as frustrated as he with how little time they had been able to get to themselves lately. They often went for walks in the evening, mainly consisting of conversations, but not solely. And it had even gotten a little beyond kissing a couple of days ago, which made it doubly frustrating that they had not had a moment alone since.

Especially with thoughts like that in mind, it would be easy to get lost in a kiss like this, so Robin was consciously keeping sufficient attention on the voices in the hall. They were but a murmur, now that he was a short distance from the door, but if they grew louder or more urgent, he and Marian would need to be ready to act.

And not in the way he wished they could.

Actually, he wished he had the ring that he had set aside for her. For once, he had felt perfectly within his rights stealing a jewel from a noblewoman, instead of simply righteous. In fact, it had been one of his favorite heists to date. That ring had been his mother's, sold to a friend of Gisborne's when the lieutenant cleaned out Locksley. It was not her engagement ring- she had been buried in that,- but his father had designed it for her, and she had worn it often. It was bigger than Robin personally would have devised, but the metalwork was delicate enough to not make it overbearing, and it was the grandest thing he could think to give Marian.

He still had no idea what he was going to say (though he did have about five thousand scrapped ideas), but he did not want to wait much longer to propose to her. He knew it was kind of soon, being that less than a year had passed since their reconciliation, and only within the last several weeks had they been given the opportunity to truly reconnect. Yet, they had years of history before that; and through it all, she had kept his heart. He may have tried to ignore it at times, but that was a futile exercise. He loved her, and always would. And, although a marriage would not be legal as long as he was outlawed, he needed to know if she wanted him by her side for the rest of their lives as much as he wanted to be there.

Especially when she was already kissing him like this, pressed against him, the fingers of one hand sunk into the hair at his nape, her other hand clutching the hood of his shirt where it met the neckline in back. The lack of any visuals was making everything else more noticeable: how delicate her lips felt, the unique texture of her tongue against his, that she tasted faintly of the mead they had had with lunch, and that she still smelled lightly of rosewater under the earthy scent of forest. The fabric of her blouse was too thin to do much good once the weather turned colder; he had not previously realized that he could practically feel her skin through it. He had to get her some sturdier clothing.

He _had_ to propose soon.

She might say no.

Her thumb ran along the skin just under the neckline of his shirt, at the very top of his back, and she tilted her head a bit so that he could deepen the kiss even more.

She might say yes.

The murmur of voices outside faded as they moved away. Part of Robin wanted to ignore that fact, but he was also aware that if those men used this corridor, it was likely that others did, too; and he and Marian needed to escape whilst they could. Reluctantly lifting his head, he whispered, "I think it is time to go." He sensed, rather than saw, an answering nod from her, and they stepped apart. He smiled as she took his hand, and they crept back over to the door, where he listened closely before picking up the loot bag. "I'll go first, to make sure they cannot see us."

"Robin-"

Knowing she was about to protest the protective suggestion, he interrupted. "If they pursue me, you come up behind them and catch them unawares."

She sighed, but agreed. "Very well."

Preparing himself for a possible fight, Robin snagged one more quick kiss before he unbolted the door and ducked into the corridor, only to find it deserted. "Come on," he hissed, and Marian stepped out beside him. They made their way safely out of the castle, meeting up with the others and cheerfully hauling their loot back to the camp. If Robin's grin was even wider than it normally would have been, nobody remarked on it.

Marian, however, did shoot him several secret smiles.

He was usually indifferent to night in the forest, but for once, he was anticipating the darkness.


End file.
